Written Answers Tuesday 13 June 2006

Scottish Executive

Concessionary Travel

Dr Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-26263 by Tavish Scott on 2 June 2006, whether it has any concerns that pensioners who are wheelchair users may not be able to take advantage of their entitlement to free national bus travel because some bus operators do not operate wheelchair-accessible buses on longer routes.

Tavish Scott: Research has been carried out as part of the Partnership Agreement Commitment to access improved public transport concessions for disabled people. The research findings entitled Improved Public Transport for Disabled People were published on 19 May 2006. The recommendations from the research report will help to inform the National Transport Strategy.

  The timetable under which buses must be fully accessible is set out in legislation reserved to Westminster. All buses must be fully accessible by 1 January 2017 and all coaches by 1 January 2020. The Executive is committed to encouraging bus operators to meet these regulations within the timetable.

Dentistry

Mr Bruce McFee (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) dentistry graduates, (b) applicants to dental schools and (c) places available for dental students there have been in each dental school since 1999 and how many such graduates and applicants were (i) Scottish, (ii) English, (iii) Welsh, (iv) Northern Irish and (v) other nationalities.

Nicol Stephen: The following tables show the number of dentistry graduates in each year since 1999, broken down by institution and domicile.

  Information on the number of applicants to dental schools and the places available for dental students is not held centrally.

  Dentistry graduates, by institution and domicile, 1999-2000 to 2004-05.

  In the following tables zero, one and two are rounded to zero. All other numbers are rounded up or down to the nearest five. Numbers may not sum to totals exactly due to rounding.

  2004 05

  

 
 Total
 Scotland
 England
 Wales
 Northern Ireland
 Other


 Total
 125
 90
 10
 0
 10
 15


 The University of Edinburgh
 5
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0


 The University of Glasgow
 70
 55
 5
 0
 5
 5


 The University of Dundee
 50
 30
 5
 0
 5
 5



  2003-04

  

 
 Total
 Scotland
 England
 Wales
 Northern Ireland
 Other


 Total
 180
 120
 15
 0
 35
 15


 The University of Edinburgh
 5
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0


 The University of Glasgow
 75
 45
 5
 0
 15
 5


 The University of Dundee
 105
 70
 10
 0
 20
 5



  2002-03

  

 
 Total
 Scotland
 England
 Wales
 Northern Ireland
 Other


 Total
 85
 55
 5
 0
 10
 10


 The University of Edinburgh
 10
 5
 0
 0
 0
 5


 The University of Glasgow
 70
 45
 5
 0
 10
 10


 The University of Dundee
 5
 5
 0
 0
 0
 0



  2001-02

  

 
 Total
 Scotland
 England
 Wales
 Northern Ireland
 Other


 Total
 135
 95
 10
 0
 20
 10


 The University of Edinburgh
 5
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0


 The University of Glasgow
 80
 55
 5
 0
 15
 5


 The University of Dundee
 55
 40
 0
 0
 5
 5



  2000-01

  

 
 Total
 Scotland
 England
 Wales
 Northern Ireland
 Other


 Total
 120
 80
 10
 0
 20
 10


 The University of Edinburgh
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0
 0


 The University of Glasgow
 70
 50
 5
 0
 10
 5


 The University of Dundee
 50
 35
 5
 0
 10
 0



  1999-2000

  

 
 Total
 Scotland
 England
 Wales
 Northern Ireland
 Other


 Total
 135
 100
 5
 0
 20
 10


 The University of Edinburgh
 5
 5
 0
 0
 0
 0


 The University of Glasgow
 80
 65
 0
 0
 10
 5


 The University of Dundee
 55
 30
 5
 0
 10
 10

Education

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many Active Schools co-ordinators are employed in each local authority area.

Patricia Ferguson: Local Authority
 No. of Managers
 No. of ASCs Primary
 No. of ASCs Secondary
 No. of ASCs SEN
 No. of ASCs Combined
 Notes on Staffing


 Aberdeen City 
 1
 9
 12
 0
 0
 


 Aberdeenshire
 1
 2
 14
 0
 0
 


 Angus
 1
 8
 8
 0
 0
 


 Argyll and Bute 
 1
 3
 2
 0
 6
 6 ASCs covering both Primary and Secondary Schools


 Clackmannanshire
 1
 3
 3
 1
 0
 


 Comhairle nan Eilean Siar
 1
 3
 5
 0
 0
 


 Dumfries and Galloway
 1
 11
 16
 0
 0
 


 Dundee
 1
 8
 10
 1
 0
 


 East Ayrshire
 1
 9
 6
 1
 0
 


 East Dunbartonshire
 1
 9
 9
 1
 0
 


 East Lothian
 1
 6
 6
 0
 0
 


 East Renfrewshire
 1
 7
 7
 0
 0
 


 Edinburgh
 1
 16
 23
 1.5
 0
 


 Falkirk 
 1
 8
 8
 1
 0
 


 Fife
 1
 17
 18
 0
 0
 


 Glasgow 
 1
 27
 26
 2
 0
 


 Highland
 1
 26
 29
 1
 0
 


 Inverclyde
 1
 7
 5
 0
 0
 


 Midlothian
 1
 3
 6
 1
 0
 


 Moray
 1
 4
 5
 0
 2
 


 North Ayrshire
 1
 5
 9
 1
 1
 1 ASC is a combined Primary/ Secondary Post covering Isle of Arran


 North Lanarkshire
 1
 21
 26
 0
 0
 


 Orkney
 1
 0
 
 
 3
 3 ASCs are combined Primary Secondary Posts covering rural island areas


 Perth and Kinross
 1
 8
 10
 1
 0
 


 Renfrewshire
 1
 10
 12
 1
 0
 


 Scottish Borders
 1
 7
 9
 0
 0
 


 Shetland
 1
 1.5
 1
 0
 3.5
 3.5 ASCs are combined Primary Secondary posts to cover rural island areas


 South Ayrshire
 1
 9
 9
 0
 0
 


 South Lanarkshire
 1
 17
 19
 1
 0
 


 Stirling
 1
 6
 7
 0
 0
 


 West Dunbartonshire
 1
 6
 7
 0
 0
 


 West Lothian 
 1
 9
 11
 7
 0
 


 Totals 
 32
 284.5
 336
 15.5
 15.5
 



  Note:

  "ASC" refers to Active Schools Co-ordinators.

  "SEN" refers to Special Educational Needs.

Education

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much investment there has been in the Active Schools project in each local authority area in each of the last three years.

Patricia Ferguson: Sportscotland provides funding directly to local authorities for the delivery of the Active Schools Programme. The following table details the allocation of funding for Active Schools to each local authority area in Scotland over the last three financial years.

  

 Local Authority
Year One Allocation 2004-05 (£)
Year Two Allocation 2005-06 (£)
Year Three Allocation 2006-07 (£)


 Aberdeen City*1
 280,320.00
 376,032.00
 355,440.00


 Aberdeenshire*3
 285,900.00
 300,000.00
 310,176.00


 Angus
 256,960.00
 300,960.00
 306,960.00


 Argyll and Bute 
 280,080.00
 267,888.00
 261,360.00


 Clackmannanshire
 117,480.00
 118,590.00
 118,590.00


 Comhairle nan Eilean Siar 
 96,733.00
 179,500.00
 433,920.00


 Dumfries and Galloway 
 -
 433,920.00
 319,320.00


 Dundee
 344,280.00
 319,320.00
 340,580.00


 East Ayrshire
 139,040.00
 358,236.00
 340,580.00


 East Dunbartonshire
 348,353.00
 343,200.00
 343,200.00


 East Lothian
 244,897.00
 232,720.00
 232,720.00


 East Renfrewshire
 203,340.00
 203,340.00
 149,378.00


 Edinburgh 
 501,280.00
 670,240.00
 657,760.00


 Falkirk
 146,680.00
 300,960.00
 300,960.00


 Fife
 413,860.00
 635,892.00
 637,780.00


 Glasgow
 602,935.00
 856,980.00
 1,106,980.00


 Highland
 497,012.00
 957,100.00
 987,829.00


 Inverclyde
 178,840.00
 270,193.00
 270,960.00


 Midlothian
 177,870.00
 195,720.00
 195,720.00


 Moray
 229,960.00
 231,960.00
 231,960.00


 North Ayrshire
 318,600.00
 318,600.00
 318,600.00


 North Lanarkshire
 682,360.00
 790,000.00
 790,120.00


 Orkney
 95,500.00
 128,500.00
 128,500.00


 Perth and Kinross
 306,200.00
 319,320.00
 319,320.00


 Renfrewshire
 304,080.00
 402,288.00
 385,440.00


 Scottish Borders 
 219,780.00
 286,068.00
 278,580.00


 Shetland
 179,720.00
 179,720.00
 179,720.00


 South Ayrshire*2
 338,580.00
 338,580.00
 338,580.00


 South Lanarkshire
 425,303.00
 685,960.00
 651,640.00


 Stirling
 233,340.00
 233,340.00
 234,180.00


 West Dunbartonshire
 233,340.00
 233,340.00
 233,340.00


 West Lothian
 391,380.00
 353,940.00
 353,940.00


 Totals
 9,074,003.00
 11,822,407.00
 12,114,133.00



  Notes:

  *1. Aberdeen City a revised allocation for Year One/Year Two was agreed in February 2005. This replaced the original allocation.

  *2. South Ayrshire a revised allocation for Year One/Year Two was agreed in February 2005. This replaced the original allocation.

  *3. Aberdeenshire a combined Year Two/Year three allocation was agreed in April 2006.

Education

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what average annual budget that was allocated to individual Active Schools co-ordinators in each of the last three years and what proportion of this funding was provided by (a)  sportscotland and (b) local authorities.

Patricia Ferguson: Information on the total Active Schools Co-ordinators annual budgets is not held centrally.

  Funding allocations from Sportscotland to Active Schools Co-ordinators for annual budgets are made via the Active Schools Manager in each local authority area in Scotland.

  The Active Schools programme is delivered via "clusters" within each local authority area in Scotland. Clusters are usually formed by one Secondary school and it’s associated feeder primary schools.

  Sportscotland has provided funding of £1,500 to each Active Schools cluster in the financial years 2004-05, 2005-06 and 2006-07. Local authorities are expected to match this funding. However, the precise level of contribution by local authorities will vary depending on local needs and priorities.

Emergency Planning

Mr Bruce McFee (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what information and control systems it has in place to deal with the warning, or occurrence, of a national emergency and how such systems feed into a command and control organisation.

Cathy Jamieson: The response to an emergency is based on the principle of subsidiarity in which control of operations is exercised at the lowest practical level and co-ordinated within the relevant Strategic Co-ordinating Group. The eight Strategic Co-ordinating Groups across Scotland bring together local responders to assess the risks that they face and ensure that plans are in place to deal with them. The Scottish Executive keeps in close touch with all the Strategic Co-ordinating Groups. Further information can be found in the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 and its accompanying guidance Preparing Scotland published on the Scottish Executive website: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2006/02/27140215/0 .

Emergency Services

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when it was first notified of the proposed privatisation of air search and rescue services in Scotland.

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what concerns it has about the proposed privatisation of air search and rescue services in Scotland.

Tavish Scott: Control and tasking of the air search and rescue service is a reserved matter and will remain with the UK Government. The Department for Transport and the Ministry of Defence announced on 9 May that the joint Search and Rescue Helicopter project would go forward to a competition under the Private Finance Initiative. The Scottish Executive has responsibility for managing the consequences arising from civil emergencies and works closely with the UK Government and a variety of organisations in ensuring emergency preparedness.

Energy Efficiency

Mr Jim Wallace (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has conducted any evaluation of the conditions attached to the Central Energy Efficiency Fund and, in particular, whether the conditions constitute a barrier to achieving the aims of the fund.

Nicol Stephen: The Executive regularly reviews the terms and conditions attached to the Central Energy Efficiency Fund, and will consider any concerns raised by the bodies involved if they believe that these may constitute a barrier to the aims of the fund.

Energy Efficiency

Mr Jim Wallace (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consider extending the scope of the Central Energy Efficiency Fund to cover other publicly funded bodies, including Scotland’s universities and colleges.

Nicol Stephen: The Executive will consider over the course of this financial year, what scope may exist for extending the Fund to cover other publicly funded bodies.

Energy Efficiency

Mr Jim Wallace (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how much of the Central Energy Efficiency Fund has been spent by each eligible public body, shown also as a percentage of the value of the fund.

Nicol Stephen: The total amount of the Central Energy Efficiency Fund that has been allocated, applied for and spent by each eligible public body as at 31 March 2006, shown as a percentage of the value of the total fund (i.e. £20 million) is shown as follows. The answer to this question also encompasses the answers to S2W-26314 and S2W-26315 on 13 June 2006.

  

 Local Authority
 Allocated (£)
 Actual Applied for (£)
 Actual Applied for as (%) of fund
Actual Spend (£)(as at 31-03-06)
 Actual Spend as (%) of fund(as at 31-03-06)


 Aberdeen City
 565,000
 565,370
 2.82
 183,745
 0.92


 Aberdeenshire
 635,000
 634,883
 3.17
 206,337
 1.03


 Angus
 321,000
 320,900
 1.61
 104,292
 0.52


 Argyll and Bute
 286,000
 286,466
 1.43
 93,101
 0.47


 Clackmannanshire
 136,000
 136,238
 0.68
 44,277
 0.22


 Dumfries and Galloway
 449,000
 291,858
 1.46
 35,191
 0.18


 Dundee City
 456,000
 456,012
 2.28
 148,204
 0.74


 East Ayrshire
 351,000
 350,575
 1.75
 113,937
 0.57


 East Dunbartonshire
 297,000
 297,177
 1.49
 96,583
 0.48


 East Lothian
 246,000
 246,489
 1.23
 80,109
 0.40


 East Renfrewshire
 249,000
 248,555
 1.24
 80,780
 0.40


 Edinburgh, City of
 1,196,000
 777,201
 3.89
 0
 0


 Eilean Siar
 129,000
 129,046
 0.65
 41,940
 0.21


 Falkirk
 396,000
 396,234
 1.98
 128,776
 0.64


 Fife
 992,000
 992,440
 4.96
 322,543
 1.61


 Glasgow City
 1,955,000
 1,270,656
 6.35
 635,328
 3.18


 Highland
 672,000
 671,992
 3.36
 218,397
 1.09


 Inverclyde
 260,000
 259,702
 1.30
 84,403
 0.42


 Midlothian
 228,000
 227,669
 1.14
 73,992
 0.37


 Moray
 245,000
 245,399
 1.23
 79,755
 0.40


 North Ayrshire
 407,000
 406,445
 2.03
 132,095
 0.66


 North Lanarkshire
 930,000
 929,539
 4.65
 302,100
 1.51


 Orkney
 89,000
 88,575
 0.44
 28,787
 0.14


 Perth and Kinross
 386,000
 386,455
 1.93
 125,598
 0.63


 Renfrewshire
 507,000
 506,844
 2.53
 164,724
 0.82


 Scottish Borders
 325,000
 162,600
 0.81
 0
 0


 Shetland
 116,000
 115,640
 0.58
 37,583
 0.19


 South Ayrshire
 325,000
 325,252
 1.63
 105,707
 0.53


 South Lanarkshire
 863,000
 862,574
 4.31
 280,337
 1.40


 Stirling
 252,000
 252,359
 1.26
 82,017
 0.41


 West Dunbartonshire
 301,000
 301,098
 1.51
 97,857
 0.49


 West Lothian
 435,000
 435,311
 2.18
 141,476
 0.71


 Total
 15,000,000
 13,577,554
 67.89
 4,269,971
 21.35


 NHS Board
 
 
 
 
 


 Ayrshire and Arran
 235,000
 0
 0
 0
 0


 Borders
 109,000
 80,000
 0.4
 80,000
 0.4


 Dumfries and Galloway
 104,000
 0
 0
 0
 0


 Fife
 198,000
 0
 0
 0
 0


 Forth Valley
 161,000
 22,813
 0.11
 22,813
 0.11


 Grampian
 398,000
 135,000
 0.68
 135,000
 0.68


 Greater Glasgow and Clyde
 1,034,000
 799,420
 4.00
 799,420
 4.00


 Highland
 233,000
 0
 0
 0
 0


 Lanarkshire
 257,000
 0
 0
 0
 0


 Lothian
 673,000
 110,000
 0.55
 110,000
 0.55


 Orkney
 58,000
 0
 0
 0
 0


 Shetland
 60,000
 0
 0
 0
 0


 Tayside
 410,000
 21,750
 0.11
 21,750
 0.11


 Western Isles
 71,000
 0
 0
 0
 0


 Total
 4,001,000*
 1,168,983
 5.85
 1,168,983
 5.85


 Scottish Water
 1,000,000
 13,671
 0.07
 1,000,000
 5.00


 Overall Total
 20,000,000
 14,760,208
 73.80
 6,438,954
 32.20



  Note: *Allocations have been rounded up – the total actual allocation for NHS boards is £4 million.

  All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website the search facility for which can be at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Energy Efficiency

Mr Jim Wallace (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how much of the Central Energy Efficiency Fund has been applied for by each eligible public body, shown also as a percentage of the value of the fund.

Nicol Stephen: The total amount of the Central Energy Efficiency Fund that has been applied for by each eligible public body, shown also as a percentage of the value of the fund is detailed in the answer to question S2W-26313 on 13 June 2006.

  All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website the search facility for which can be at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Energy Efficiency

Mr Jim Wallace (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what funding has been allocated to each public sector body under the Central Energy Efficiency Fund and how that allocation was calculated.

Nicol Stephen: The Executive has allocated £15 million to local authorities, £4 million to the NHS and £1 million to Scottish Water. The breakdown indicating the allocation to each public sector body is detailed in the answer to S2W-26313 on 13 June 2006.

  The funding for individual local authorities and NHS boards was calculated using the Grant Aided Expenditure formula.

  All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website the search facility for which can be at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Energy Efficiency

Mr Jim Wallace (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many of the public sector bodies that are eligible for funding under the Central Energy Efficiency Fund have applied for such funding.

Nicol Stephen: All eligible bodies including 32 local authorities, 14 NHS boards and Scottish Water have applied for funding under the Central Energy Efficiency Fund.

Energy Efficiency

Mr Jim Wallace (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive which public sector bodies are eligible for funding under the Central Energy Efficiency Fund.

Nicol Stephen: The Central Energy Efficiency Fund is available to all 32 Scottish local authorities, all 14 Scottish NHS Trusts and Scottish Water.

Energy Efficiency

Mr Jim Wallace (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has considered making the funding available under the Central Energy Efficiency Fund interest-free and, if so, what the costs and benefits of such a change would be.

Nicol Stephen: Funding available under the Central Energy Efficiency Fund is in the form of a grant and is interest-free. The funding made available to all individual projects supported under the scheme is also interest-free.

Energy Efficiency

Mr Jim Wallace (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has evaluated the effectiveness of the Public Sector Energy Efficiency initiative and, if so, what conclusions have been reached.

Nicol Stephen: We are currently undertaking post project evaluation of a selection of the local authority projects funded under the Central Energy Efficiency Fund. A formal evaluation of the effectiveness of the scheme has not yet been undertaken as a number of these projects are still at an early stage. We are currently discussing the scope and requirements for an evaluation of the scheme which we intend to initiate in this financial year.

Enterprise

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-19753 by Nicol Stephen on 25 November 2005, how many enterprises have relocated from Scotland in each year since 1999 and what the financial effect was on Scotland’s economy.

Nicol Stephen: It is not possible to answer this question from the data held centrally. The Executive’s firm-level database (Inter-Departmental Business Register) contains data on the number of enterprises located in Scotland, but does not record the number who have relocated.

Ferry Services

Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what process and procedures were designed and implemented to ensure that CalMac was not treated preferentially during the recent tendering process for the Orkney and Shetland lifeline ferry services contract.

Tavish Scott: The companies invited to tender were given access to extensive information on the services to be tendered and the current operation. In addition, tenderers had the opportunity to request supplementary information and all such requests were answered during the bidding period with the supplementary information then supplied to all tenderers.

  The procurement process, including the evaluation of bids, was co-ordinated by the Scottish Procurement Directorate, which is responsible for ensuring compliance with EU and Executive wide procurement requirements and procedures. A separate Northern Isles tendering branch was established within the Enterprise Transport and Lifelong Learning Department to lead the Project Team managing the tender process. There was clear separation between the role of this branch and the branch responsible for sponsorship of Caledonian MacBrayne. This Chinese wall was supported by separate line management reporting arrangements within the Department. Similarly, responsibilities between tendering and sponsoring interests were split in the Finance and Central Services Department and in the Office of the Solicitor to the Scottish Executive.

  This Chinese wall was strictly maintained at all times, including handling of documents, access to paper files, copying of emails and minutes, and securing of electronic files. The Invitation to Tender set out in detail (section 5) the procedures for ensuring transparent and fair evaluation of tenders, and confirmed for all bidders that there were organisational measures in place to address the issue of involvement by Caledonian MacBrayne.

Ferry Services

Jim Mather (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is satisfied that bidders for the Northern Isles ferry services contract had full access to all relevant material.

Tavish Scott: The Executive is satisfied that it provided bidders for the Northern Isles Ferry Service contract with as much information as possible to allow them to construct a fully informed bid. All three companies invited to tender for the contract received a full Invitation to Tender document, which included a detailed service specification and background information. They were also given equal access to information provided by the current operator on the current service levels, contractual arrangements, staffing and benefits, carryings, route revenue, operating costs by route and vessel specifications. In addition, copies of the draft contract documentation were made available. Information on the port and terminal facilities was provided by the harbour authorities.

  In addition, in response to requests for further information on specific issues, the Executive issued to all the tenderers a total of 26 Circular Advice Notes containing as much of the further information requested as could legally be provided. In addition, the tenderers were given access to the vessels for inspection both at sea and in dry-dock, and to the maintenance records of the vessels.

  The Executive’s improvements to the quality and accessibility of information available for tenderers anticipated the later findings of the Auditor General in his Report on the Northern Isles Ferry Services contract (published on 22 December 2005). The Auditor General acknowledged the steps which the Department had taken to provide more detailed information in the tendering exercise for bids submitted on 1 December 2005 (Auditor General’s Report paras 22, 27 and 3.22-23). Ministers also made it clear at that point that they would implement any recommendations by the Auditor General that had implications for funding of subsidy in future tender contracts.

Ferry Services

Jim Mather (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that the European Commission’s announcement that peninsular ferry routes, such as Tarbert to Portavadie and Gourock to Dunoon, may be treated as public service obligation island services for the purposes of the application of the 1992 European Maritime Cabotage Regulation gives the Executive power to impose restrictions and obligations on all operators in a non-discriminatory fashion in respect of fares and levels of service on such routes in order to pursue social and economic objectives.

Tavish Scott: The Executive is taking forward proposals for the provision of ferry services on the Tarbert to Portavadie and Gourock to Dunoon routes, and elsewhere on the Clyde and Hebrides network, in a non discriminatory way, in line with the Maritime Cabotage Regulation. The Executive is tendering on the basis of Public Services Contracts (PSCs). The Executive considers that a single PSC for the Gourock-Dunoon ferry service and another single PSC for the rest of the network offer the certainty and security of a set service specification that will be welcomed by Cowal residents, residents served by the rest of the network and all other users of the ferry services. Public Service Obligations (PSOs) would not provide that certainty and security of service nor deliver on the Executive’s key policy objectives. Consequently there is no need to consider, nor do we intend to consider, issues arising in relation to PSOs.

Ferry Services

Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any of the costs incurred by Caledonian MacBrayne in bidding for the Northern Isles ferry services contract were financed from its annual subsidy from the Executive.

Tavish Scott: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-18866 on 23 September 2005. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Ferry Services

Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the bid for the Northern Isles ferry services contract submitted by Caledonian MacBrayne was based on commercial rates or on the assumption that aspects of the service would be provided with the assistance of its annual subsidy from the Executive.

Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Northern Isles ferry routes will be operated autonomously from the rest of the Caledonian MacBrayne network or whether certain functions will be integrated with its existing operations.

Tavish Scott: The Caledonian MacBrayne bid for the Northern Isles contract is on the basis that the service would be delivered through a special purpose company, an existing subsidiary of Caledonian MacBrayne now renamed as NorthLink Ferries Ltd. There will be no cross-subsidisation of the Northern Isles contract from the subsidy paid for the Clyde and Hebrides services and the special purpose company arrangement will allow this to be monitored closely. Similarly, any provision of services between CalMac group companies would continue to be chargeable on a fully commercial basis.

Health

John Farquhar Munro (Ross, Skye and Inverness West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment has been made of the benefits of a nationwide public access defibrillation scheme.

Mr Andy Kerr: The Scottish Executive is aware of the National Defibrillator Programme which has operated in England since February 2000, and I am asking the National Advisory Group for CHD to undertake a further review of the emergent evidence. Meanwhile, there is nothing to prevent cardiac services, Managed Clinical Networks or other organisations from considering the merits of deploying defibrillators in public places in their local area.

  Given the evidence that survival rates depend on the chain of response to an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, it is worth noting the high level of participation by schools in Scotland in the British Heart Foundation’s "Heartstart" programme, which teaches emergency life support skills, including cardiopulmonary rehabilitation techniques.

Health

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how much it has spent on research into the (a) prevention and (b) treatment of inflammatory arthritis in each year since 2001.

Lewis Macdonald: The Chief Scientist Office (CSO) within the Scottish Executive Health Department has responsibility for encouraging and supporting research into health and health care needs in Scotland. Since 2001, CSO has directly funded 10 projects on the prevention and treatment of arthritis at a total expenditure of £557,725. A further £543,000 has been committed for those projects in the period 2006-09. Spend for each of the years requested is detailed in the following table.

  CSO Annual Expenditure on Arthritis Projects

  

 Year
 2001-02
2002-03
2003-04
2004-5
2005-6
Total


 Prevention
 123,959
 87,431
55,817
 22,767
9,790
 299,764


 Treatment
 16,724
 12,746
41,367
 95,104
92,020
 257,961

Health

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many NHS boards currently meet the British Society for Rheumatology’s recommendation of one rheumatology consultant for every 85,000 people and what estimates have been made of the population-to-consultant ratio in boards which do not meet this recommendation.

Lewis Macdonald: Individual NHS boards are responsible for planning the resource required at local level to meet service need, including rheumatology consultants.

  The following table shows the head count number of rheumatology consultants by NHS board as at 30 September 2005, together with population mid-year estimates and the ratio of rheumatology consultants per head of population by NHS board.

  

 NHS Board
 Rheumatology Consultants1
 Population mid-year estimate2
 Ratio of population to Rheumatology Consultants


 Scotland
 42
 5,094,800
 121,305 : 1


 Argyll and Clyde
 1
 414,022
 414,022 : 1


 Ayrshire and Arran
 2
 367,010
 183,505 : 1


 Borders
 1
 109,730
 109,730 : 1


 Dumfries and Galloway
 1
 148,340
 148,340 : 1


 Fife
 2
 356,664
 178,332 : 1


 Forth Valley
 1
 284,379
 284,379 : 1


 Grampian
 4
 525,930
 131,483 : 1


 Greater Glasgow
 16
 867,787
 54,237 : 1


 Highland
 1
 213,590
 213,590 : 1


 Lanarkshire
 3
 557,088
 185,696 : 1


 Lothian
 6
 792,593
 132,099 : 1


 Orkney
 -
 19,590
 -


 Shetland
 1
 22,000
 22,000 : 1


 Tayside
 3
 389,707
 129,902 : 1


 Western Isles
 -
 26,370
 -



  Source: ISD Scotland.

  Notes:

  1. Head count Consultant figures taken from 30 September 2005.

  2. Population figures derived from mid-year estimates from the General Register Office for Scotland (GROS) at 30 June 2005.

Health

Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the role of multidisciplinary teams in the treatment of inflammatory arthritis.

Lewis Macdonald: The Executive acknowledges that managing inflammatory arthritis through a multidisciplinary team, which would include nurses and therapists, would provide the best outcome for the patient and their carers, by addressing various aspects of health and social care: treatment, rehabilitation (including vocational rehabilitation), prevention of complications and other illnesses, and the promotion of health and well-being.

Justice

Margaret Mitchell (Central Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many errors in individual criminal records have occurred in each of the last five years.

Cathy Jamieson: Any errors on the criminal history system are corrected as soon as they are found.

  As the criminal record is updated for a number of reasons, for example, to record a new conviction or the outcome of an appeal, it is not possible to establish how many records have been updated because of an error.

  Between April 2002 and April 2006, Disclosure Scotland has carried out 1.55 million criminal record checks. The following table sets out on a year-by-year basis the number and types of disputes and whether or not the complaints have been upheld.

  

 
 2002
 2003
 2004
 2005
 2006
 Total


 Total disputes
 59
 164
 173
 207
 81
 684


 Total disputes upheld
 40
 91
 112
 120
 42
 405


 Accuracy of information
 27
 74
 60
 77
 41
 279


 Accuracy of information upheld
 21
 56
 30
 52
 22
 181


 Other relevant information
 23
 68
 74
 99
 29
 293


 Other relevant information upheld
 10
 19
 49
 46
 13
 137


 Identity of record
 9
 22
 39
 31
 11
 112


 Identity of record upheld
 9
 16
 33
 22
 7
 87

Justice

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people aged under 16 it estimates carried (a) a knife and (b) another type of offensive weapon in each year since 1999.

Cathy Jamieson: The Scottish Executive holds no estimates of the overall prevalence of carrying offensive weapons by people aged under 16. The available information is shown in the following table.

  Children and Young People Referred to The Children’s Reporter Under Section 52(2)(I) of The Children (Scotland) Act 1995 Where The Offence Type Was Carrying An Offensive Weapon

  

 2003-04
 1,245


 2004-05
 1,206



  Source: Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration.

  The age of criminal responsibility in Scotland is eight years. This information therefore relates to children and young people aged eight years and over, to a maximum age of 17, and excludes any involved in the most serious crimes which would have been dealt with by the courts.

Justice

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people aged between 8 and 16 were arrested by police officers and subsequently charged with an offence in each year since 1999, broken down by police force.

Cathy Jamieson: The available information is shown in the following table. The data is supplied by the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration, and – as such – cannot currently be broken down by police force.

  The Numbers of Children1 Referred to the Children’s Reporter Under Section 52(2)(i) of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995:

  

 Year
 No. Children


 1999-2000
 16,261


 2000-01
 16,318


 2001-02
 17,132


 2002-03
 17,900


 2003-04
 18,608


 2004-05
 17,494



  Note: 1. Information is on children and young people from eight to 17 years (inclusive) but excludes any involved in the most serious crimes which would have been dealt with by the courts.

Justice

Mr Andrew Arbuckle (Mid Scotland and Fife) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people in possession of a valid (a) standard or (b) enhanced disclosure were convicted for a crime under child and adult protection legislation in the last year for which figures are available.

Cathy Jamieson: The information requested is not held centrally.

  However, the Protection of Children (Scotland) Act 2003 came into force on 10 January 2005. To date no-one disqualified from working with children has been convicted of an offence under that legislation i.e. no disqualified individual has applied for or offered to do any work in a childcare position.

  Since 11 April 2005, it has been an offence under the same act, for an organisation to offer work in a child care position to an individual who has been disqualified from working with children. To date no organisation has been convicted of an offence under that legislation.

  There is currently no Scottish Disqualified from Working with Adults list. It is planned to include such a list in the forthcoming legislation to introduce a vetting and barring scheme to implement the recommendations of Sir Michael Bichard’s report into the Soham murders.

Ministerial Correspondence

Murray Tosh (West of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what its target date would have been to respond to my letter of 20 December 2005 on the performance of SEERAD officials and requests for a trial marine protection area in Lamlash Bay, Arran; when it expects to answer my letter, in relation to which I issued reminders on 9 March 2006 and 21 April 2006, and whether it will explain the delay in responding, so that I can explain the delay to the constituents who raised these matters with me.

Ross Finnie: The target date for responding to your letter of 20 December was 30 January. I have written to you explaining that because of the extent of the issues raised by the COAST proposals it has not yet been possible to provide COAST or you with a substantive response. I have also confirmed that I expect to write to COAST within a week setting out the way forward and that I will provide you with a copy of that letter.

NHS Funding

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what funding it provides to the Caledonian Virtual Practice Development College.

Lewis Macdonald: The Scottish Executive agreed to provide a contribution to the running costs for one year (2005-06), along with NHS Education for Scotland and NHS Quality Improvement Scotland, to allow the College to continue functioning while an external evaluation of practice development models was carried out. The Scottish Executive contributed £40,000.

NHS Funding

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any funding changes are proposed for the Caledonian Virtual Practice Development College.

Lewis Macdonald: The Scottish Executive provided transitional funding for 2005-06. This funding came to an end on 31 March 2006.

Older People

John Swinburne (Central Scotland) (SSCUP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to issue guidance to local authorities to raise the level of pavements at bus stops to make non-low floor buses more accessible to elderly and disabled people.

Tavish Scott: The Scottish Executive has no current plans to issue guidance on pavement levels to local authorities.

Public Appointments

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what powers the President of the Mental Health Tribunal for Scotland has to appoint a vice president.

Lewis Macdonald: The Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 makes no specific provision for a vice president. The act does however give the president powers to delegate specific functions to any member of the Tribunal or its staff in accordance with the Mental Health Tribunal for Scotland (Delegation of President’s Functions) Regulations 2004 (SSI 2004/373).

Public Appointments

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the paid post of Vice President of the Mental Health Tribunal for Scotland was advertised publicly and what the reasons are for its position on the matter.

Lewis Macdonald: The Executive understands that the title of interim vice president has been given to two legal members of the tribunal, that no additional payments are being made beyond the daily rate payable to legal members of the tribunal and that there was no public advertisement.

Public Appointments

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussion it has had with the President of the Mental Health Tribunal for Scotland with regard to the appointment of a vice president.

Lewis Macdonald: The Executive has recently been informed of these appointments and will be clarifying with the president the functions being delegated to the members appointed as interim vice presidents.

Public Appointments

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many representations it has received regarding the appointment of a vice president to the Mental Health Tribunal for Scotland.

Lewis Macdonald: Ministers have received no representations regarding this matter but officials have received two enquiries related to the matter.

Public Spending

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide a breakdown of its expenditure and that of its agencies in the Greengairs area of Lanarkshire in the current year and in each of the last three financial years.

Mr Tom McCabe: This information is not collected centrally.

Rail Services

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking, in partnership with Transport Scotland and First ScotRail, to improve train services between Perth and Edinburgh.

Tavish Scott: Performance for rail services between Perth and Edinburgh is monitored by Transport Scotland as part of the Express service group. The Public Performance Measure (measuring reliability and punctuality) has shown consistent improvement, rising from below 80% 12 months ago to its current level of about 85%. This is a result of a combined effort by First ScotRail and Network Rail to improve both punctuality and reliability across the whole Scottish rail network.

  Scottish ministers are committed to developing a long-term rail strategy to contribute to a sustainable, effective and efficient transport system for Scotland. This includes consideration of options to improve Perth-Edinburgh services. Transport Scotland will work with the rail industry and others to continue to develop rail services across Scotland.

Renewable Energy

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to limit the amount of wind development to the capacity limit of a maximum average density of wind-generation of 150 kilowatts per square kilometre in any planning authority, as set out in Scotland’s Renewable Resource 2001.

Allan Wilson: The Executive will shortly be consulting on a revised draft planning policy for renewable energy developments, and will consider comments and suggestions made by interested parties in the course of that consultation.

Road Safety

Elaine Smith (Coatbridge and Chryston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action has been taken to monitor and regulate the volume of roadside hoardings and trailer advertising on major roads in Scotland.

Tavish Scott: Roadside hoardings and trailer advertising are not permitted within the trunk road boundary. The trunk road Operating Companies, in the course of routine safety inspections, monitor unauthorised advertising signs and initiate such enforcement action as may be required to have the signs removed.

  Advertising hoardings erected on private land adjacent to the trunk road normally fall within the terms of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act, 1997, subject to local authority enforcement. However, in some circumstances, section 69 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 empowers the roads authority to require the owner of land on which there is an advertising sign (whether fixed or portable) to remove it. If the landowner fails to comply, the roads authority may take appropriate enforcement action to remove such a sign

  Transport Scotland has the operational responsibility for this area, and can be contacted for more information if required.

Road Safety

Elaine Smith (Coatbridge and Chryston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any work has been undertaken to assess the danger posed to motorists by roadside hoardings and trailer advertising on major roads.

Tavish Scott: The Scottish Executive commissioned research in 2003 into the effect of external-to-vehicle driver distraction. This concluded that advertising hoardings and signs placed near junctions or other visually "cluttered" environments can cause driver distraction. Similarly drivers can become distracted by roadside hoardings on long monotonous sections of road. Both of these situations may have adverse effects on road safety. Roadside hoardings and trailer advertising are not permitted within the trunk road boundary.

  Transport Scotland has the operational responsibility for this area, and can be contacted for more information if required.

Roads

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what alternative route will be in place when there is a closure of both carriageways on the upgraded A80 between Castlecary and Haggs and what steps have been taken to ensure that diverted traffic causes minimal disruption to nearby communities.

Tavish Scott: The A80 upgrade would involve the addition of hard shoulders to assist in keeping traffic moving at times of accident and maintenance. Should an unforeseen incident cause total closure, and in common with other parts of the trunk road network, strategic redirection options on the trunk road network would be advised through Traffic Scotland, and as discussed at the Public Local Inquiry last year, the local road network would provide alternative routing for the limited time of the closure.

  Transport Scotland has the operational responsibility for this area, and can be contacted for more information if required.

Roads

Phil Gallie (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the public notice, located at Whitletts Roundabout on the A77, which advises that work will start on 8 May 2006 and continue for 119 days, indicates that the contract is placed on a fixed-time basis and, if so, whether there is a penalty clause included in the contract should the work run over time.

Tavish Scott: The contractor for the works at Whitletts Roundabout submitted a tender which specified that the works would be completed in 119 days subject to a bonus/penalty charge for each day the work is completed either ahead of or behind schedule. The contract does, however, makes provision for additional time to be granted to the contractor should Transport Scotland require to vary the contract to include significant additional works.

  Transport Scotland has the operational responsibility for this area, and can be contacted for more information if required.

Roads

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has undertaken any studies into the cost of dualling the A9 in its entirety between Perth and Inverness and, if so, what the findings were.

Tavish Scott: A Route Action Plan for the A9 reported in 1996. The cost of completing the dualling of the A9 estimated in that report was £276 million in 1995 prices.

  The economic benefits of completing the dualling were found to be substantially less than the costs of construction.

  No estimate was made of the environmental impacts of completing the dualling.

  Transport Scotland has the operational responsibility for this area, and can be contacted for more information if required.

Roads

Mr Jamie Stone (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to improve the stretch of the A9 between Helmsdale and Portgower in a manner similar to the works that have been completed on the A9 south of the Ord of Caithness.

Tavish Scott: The A9 Helmsdale to Ord of Caithness Improvements have been promoted in order to replace a particularly tortuous section of trunk road. Phase 1 of these improvements was completed in November 2005 and Phase 2 is expected to start later this year, subject to the successful conclusion of statutory processes.

  The section of the A9 between Helmsdale and Portgower is better and there are currently no plans for any major improvement. However, Transport Scotland is prepared to provide 50% funding for a footway between Portgower and Helmsdale, provided other funding partners can be identified. Work is being undertaken with other funding bodies to fill the gap.

  Transport Scotland has the operational responsibility for this area, and can be contacted for more information if required.

Scottish Criminal Record Office

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will confirm the accuracy of statements made by the Director and Deputy Director of the Scottish Criminal Record Office (SCRO) to the Justice 1 Committee on 26 April 2006 that none of the SCRO experts involved in the identification of fingerprint evidence during investigation into the Shirley McKie case are currently engaged in the processing or identification of fingerprints ( Official Report , Justice 1 Committee, c. 2875), and what duties these experts have been undertaking to date.

Cathy Jamieson: The Deputy Director of SCRO did not give evidence to the committee on 26 April 2006. The SCRO was represented by its Director and two colleagues from the Scottish Fingerprint Service, which is currently part of the SCRO. The fingerprint officers involved in the court presentation of fingerprint evidence in the Marion Ross murder case are not providing and are not eligible to provide fingerprint evidence in court. They are employed in the checking and auditing of processes and procedures, and in general supervisory duties within the Glasgow Fingerprint Bureau.

Scottish Enterprise

Derek Brownlee (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how much of the projected £30 million overspend in Scottish Enterprise’s budget for 2005-06 related to the "identification of a growing number of projects of national significance", referred to by the Deputy First Minister and Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning on 30 March 2006 ( Official Report c. 24611).

Derek Brownlee (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any element of the projected £30 million overspend in Scottish Enterprise’s Budget for 2005-06 arose due to factors other than the "deliberate strategy to encourage new project proposals in each local enterprise area" and the "identification of a growing number of projects of national significance" referred to by the Deputy First Minister and Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning on 30 March 2006 ( Official Report  c. 24611) and, if so, what these factors were and how much of the overspend each factor accounted for.

Nicol Stephen: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-24922 on 1 June 2006. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Transport

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to introduce light rail systems in any location other than the planned Edinburgh tram network.

Tavish Scott: There are no present plans to introduce light rail systems in Scotland except for the Edinburgh system currently being considered by Parliament.

  Transport Scotland has the operational responsibility for this area, and can be contacted for more information if required.

Transport

Derek Brownlee (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-25705 by Tavish Scott on 18 May 2006, when the Strategic Transport Projects Review will be completed.

Tavish Scott: Transport Scotland is currently in the process of appointing a consultant to carry out the detailed technical analysis and transport appraisals required as part of the Strategic Transport Projects Review. The final report is planned for submission in the summer of 2008.

  Transport Scotland has the operational responsibility for this area, and can be contacted for more information if required.

Transport

Mike Pringle (Edinburgh South) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what procedures are in place for auditing the installation of cycle lanes by local authorities.

Tavish Scott: Examples of audit procedures, including safety audit, are available to local authorities within Cycling by Design, which was published by the Scottish Executive in December 1999. However, it is for local authorities to design their own procedures for auditing of cycle lanes.

  Transport Scotland has the operational responsibility for this area and can be contacted for more information if required.

Transport

Mike Pringle (Edinburgh South) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what guidelines govern the installation of cycle lanes.

Tavish Scott: The Scottish Executive published comprehensive guidelines in December 1999 covering the planning, design, implementation and audit of cycling facilities. Entitled Cycling by Design the guidelines were prepared in consultation with local authorities and are in widespread use throughout the country.

  Transport Scotland has the operational responsibility for this area and can be contacted for more information if required.

Transport

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much it has spent on the Edinburgh tram project to date, broken down by category of expenditure.

Tavish Scott: The Scottish Executive has spent £29.1 million on the Edinburgh Tram project from 2002 to the end of financial year 2005-06. This money has been spent to ensure the development of a robust business case and validate the value for money and economics of proceeding with the Edinburgh Tram project.

  A breakdown by category is summarised in the following table:

  

 Area of Spend
 Background
 Value


 Business Case Development
 Interim Outline Business Case development to determine the optimum finance and procurement strategy ahead of project commencement.
£10.6m


 Design Partnering and Franchise Operating
 Operational expertise brought in to inform the design programme. 
£1.5m


 Project Implementation 
 Detailed design and costs. 
£13.6m


 Parliamentary Bills
 Support for costs for taking both Private Bills through Parliament.
£3.4m


 Total
 
£29.1m

Transport

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much is allocated to be spent on the Edinburgh tram project in advance of the presentation of the business case later this year, broken down by category of expenditure.

Tavish Scott: To develop the business case and to ensure project delivery, City of Edinburgh Council, the Promoter of the Edinburgh Tram project, has requested a further £32.7 million drawdown from the overall offer of £375 million.

  Transport Scotland is considering this request which will enable completion of the production of the Final Draft Business Case and will cover all funding requirements for the project from April 2006 to the end of December 2006. A decision from Transport Scotland to release funds is expected shortly.

  A breakdown from the Promoter of the forecasted £32.7 million spend can be summarised as followed:

  Pre-Construction Costs (April 2006 to December 2006)

  

 
 (£ Million)


 Project management costs
£3.2


 Design, modelling, technical support services, early operator involvement
£16.24


 Legal, financial, communications, marketing and service integration planning costs
£2.9


 Utilities diversion preparation*
£6.26


 Land and property, insurance, other
£1.09


 Contingency (10%)
£2.97


 Total
£32.7



  Note: *Includes a refundable £5million deposit.

Transport

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what monitoring is in place to ensure compliance by transport operators with the Women and Transport: Moving Forward guidelines.

Tavish Scott: Women and Transport: Guidance and Checklist was issued to local authorities, Strathclyde Passenger Transport and transport providers in Scotland in July 2002. How the guidance is put into practice is not monitored centrally.

Transport

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps First ScotRail is taking to address the issues raised in Women and Transport: Moving Forward.

Tavish Scott: First ScotRail are committed to delivering a number of improvements over the life of the current rail franchise as part of its £40 million Station Investment Programme. These include the installation of CCTV at 13 stations, Customer Information Systems at 44 stations, Help Points, Public Announcement systems and lighting improvements. In addition to this, improvements to station signage, totem information displays, new poster cases and telephones will be made at stations across Scotland. First ScotRail also provide a free assisted travel service for customers requiring help at stations, and passengers can book this via the Customer Contact Centre.

Transport

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has paid any subsidy to the operators of any of the cross-border passenger transport services in the last five years and what level of subsidy is proposed for the coming five years.

Tavish Scott: The cross-border rail passenger services are fully funded by the Department for Transport in London as part of the rail devolution settlement. The Scottish Executive has made no subsidy payments to the train operators providing these services and has no current plans to do so.

  Transport Scotland has the operational responsibility for this area, and can be contacted for more information if required.

Transport

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress is being made on the development of the route utilisation strategy in Scotland and whether it will outline any potential impact on passenger services and routes in the north east.

Tavish Scott: Network Rail have responsibility for developing the Route Utilisation Strategy for Scotland and will be issuing a draft for consultation around August. The Route Utilisation Strategy considers whether better use can be made of the network, including routes in the north east, through changes to timetables or through small scale improvements to the infrastructure. This will produce options for ministers to take into account when specifying the outputs we want from Network Rail and any amendments we might want to the franchise specifications in future.

  Transport Scotland has the operational responsibility for this area and can be contacted for more information if required.

Transport

Mike Pringle (Edinburgh South) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what systems it has in place to monitor the environmental impact of helicopter flights.

Tavish Scott: The Scottish Executive does not specifically monitor the environmental impact of helicopter flights. However, the height restrictions under the Air Navigation Order 2005 and the Rules of the Air Regulations 1996, which are concerned primarily with safety, help to mitigate the impact of noise. In addition, Planning Advice Note 56, which contains specific advice on helicopter and heliport noise, sets out the role of the planning system in preventing and limiting the adverse effects of noise. Copies of the documents referred to above are available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (respectively Bib. numbers 39776, 39777 and 1153).

Transport

Mike Pringle (Edinburgh South) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what regulations govern the operation of helicopters for pleasure flights.

Tavish Scott: All civil aircraft fly subject to the provisions of the Air Navigation Order 2005 and the Rules of the Air Regulations 1996. These require that helicopters must not fly within 500 feet of any person, vessel, vehicle or structure (except when landing or taking off), nor below 1,000 feet over a congested area. Copies of the documents referred to above are available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (respectively Bib. numbers 39776 and 39777).

Young People

Mr Jamie Stone (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made on developing a strategy to reduce the proportion of young people not in education, employment or training (NEET) in Scotland.

Nicol Stephen: I am pleased to announce the publication of More Choices, More Chances , our strategy to reduce the number of young people not in education, employment or training in Scotland. The strategy makes clear that tackling this problem is a national priority, and that a major national effort is required to turn these young lives around.

  More Choices, More Chances outlines the action needed at an early stage to improve the life chances of young people in Scotland. It highlights the opportunities and support on offer to help all 16 to 19-year-olds make a positive start to adult life and work. For example, we are developing pilot Skills for Work courses for S3 pupils of all abilities. Their aim is to give young people hands-on work experience alongside other subjects, thereby making their education more relevant and keeping them engaged. In addition, Careers Scotland key workers are giving young people more one to one support with access to specialist services to encourage new routes into education, employment and training.

  The strategy will introduce a testing out of new financial incentives - Activity Allowances - where a payment will be made to young people in informal learning as a first step towards education, employment or training. Better preparing young people for the world of work will be further strengthened through the extension of the successful Xlerate programme in schools. The Executive will make available an additional £10 million over the next two years - in addition to the wide range of existing mainstream and targeted resource already in place to support these young people - to underpin delivery of the strategy at the local level.

  Copies are available through the Scottish Executive website at (www.scotland.gov.uk), and in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 39799).